Essential Oils, DIYs and Tasty Treats!

healing

Today’s Blog is all about Marriage Retreats, and how you can save $100 on the BEST one out there.

So, I know this blog is for essential oils, but I just HAVE to share my experience at a FamilyLife marriage retreat with you.

My husband and I recently went to one of FamilyLife’s many “Weekend to Remember” retreats and had a wonderful time learning about what makes a good marriage, all while enjoying the hilarious speakers!

These retreats go on throughout the year all across the country. They have marriage experts, top speakers (always funny people!), fun couples merchandise and books. It is like a mini getaway, and we so needed that!

How many couples do you see who invest in everything else BUT their marriage? Sadly, way too many.

We decided we would try it out, get away for the weekend and invest in what is the most important relationship we will ever have in our lives.

We haven’t had a vacation in a while, and while we are happy together after many years together, we could always stand to learn something new. And…for some reason, staying in a hotel always seems to stir up romance. Woowoo!

The retreat starts out at the hotel on a Friday evening, for the first/intro session of guest speakers. The 2 guests at our retreat were AWESOME! So funny! One was a married couple, and the other was a married man whose wife doesn’t like to speak on stage so he spoke solo. We were laughing so much all weekend it was such a great release of those daily stressors.

Here’s us when we first got to the hotel room…feeling a little goofy and laughing hysterically at who knows what:

Saturday morning, after you have breakfast, you go to the morning session.
Here’s our view during breakfast. So serene… (except for the goose that kept attacking another goose, because apparently the pond wasn’t big enough for the both of them!):

After the morning session, they break for lunch. After lunch, there is an afternoon session.

Then they let you have the evening off to go on a “date night.” You are supposed to make reservations somewhere ahead of time, and have a romantic evening with your spouse. We loved the restaurant we chose – maybe a little too much – because we came back to the hotel WAY too full to enjoy the rest of the evening. Our bad.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, there is a morning session. We skipped this one because it was a session where they split up the men and women, and you listen to designated speakers of your own sex. I am sure it was as great as the rest of the retreat, but we didn’t want to separate! God has done some intense healing in our marriage and we we’ve been feeling like newlyweds lately. (Sorry if it makes you gag…it is just great to feel so good again!)

The stories we heard from the speakers were eye opening and touching and funny! They told us of some couples at past retreats who came there with divorce papers in the car…and left feeling they should give their marriage another try. Beautiful.

So, we loved the retreat so much that we decided to become volunteers for FamilyLife, and spread the word about their retreats and help out any way we can! Although thousands attend these retreats every year, there are still so many couples who could benefit from attending.

If you’re interested in investing in your marriage, or having marriage troubles, or just want to get away from the kids for a weekend!!…you should definitely check it out for yourself. I highly recommend it! I can save you $100 off registration, so it won’t be so hard on your pocketbook.

This PROMO CODE that will get you $100 off registration at any retreat, in any state.

Just click this link and type in Promo Code: ‘TwoAreOne‘ when prompted:

Winter in Chicago is pretty darn cold! Between the below-zero windchill days, and the strong winds off of Lake Michigan, it is almost impossible to stay moisturized throughout the winter months.

I have tried numerous body creams and lotions, and while some commercial creams work pretty well, none are as luxurious as this do-it-yourself whipped body butter – or as pure. Frankincense essential oil provides extra skin-soothing support, and I highly recommend you add it to this recipe. (See my blog on Frankincense HERE.)

Rather than purchasing creams from the drug store, which contain parabens, mineral oils, formaldehyde, sulfates, preservatives, animal fillers, petrolatum, GMOs, etc., you can make your own all-natural body cream and actually nourish your body, rather than fill it with toxins.

My husband’s job causes him to wash his hands with a very harsh scrubbing soap, which leaves the tops of his hands dried out, red, rough and cracked from the lack of moisture. I applied this body butter to his hands before bed, and by morning they were much softer and less irritated.

**Quick Tip! If you have a mason jar or glass container that still has a price sticker on the bottom, any citrus essential oil will remove it, including all sticky residue, within a couple of minutes! No need to purchase Goo Gone anymore once you have these oils.

I am always amazed at how having essential oils in your home can eliminate almost every store-bought cleaner. (See my Essential Oils Cabinet project HERE.)

Voila! No sticky residue left on the glass!

So, let’s get started!

First you will want to gather your ingredients (see recipe below):

In a double broiler or glass bowl, combine all ingredients except sweet almond, shea or jojoba oil and essential oil/oils.

Bring to a low-medium heat. Stir constantly until all ingredients are melted. Remove from heat, add your shea/almond/jojoba oil and stir to combine. Allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Place your bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes, or in the fridge for a few hours, until the oil is opaque and somewhat solidified. It should no longer be a clear liquid. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture at this point!)

Once your oils have solidified, remove it from the fridge and add your essential oils. Using a hand mixer, whip for 10 minutes. Body butter will become fluffy and look like whipped cream.

Scoop into a glass jar, or if it is a gift, use a piping bag to give it more of a design.

My piping design didn’t look so pretty…. So, I just filled the jar completely, tapping it on the counter each time to make sure it filled every space of the jar.

If you are giving it as a gift, find some cute labels and ribbon and beautify it! I think I will be giving one of these to all of my bosses this Christmas. It makes a thoughtful and budget-friendly gift for anyone.

In a double broiler or glass bowl, combine all ingredients except almond/shea/jojoba oil and essential oil/oils. Bring to a low-medium heat. Stir constantly until all ingredients are melted. Remove from heat, add your almond oil and stir to combine. Allow to cool.

Move bowl to the fridge and allow to cool for 1 hour. This is important because you do not want to add essential oils to hot oil, or it will decrease it’s wellness benefits. It should look slightly opaque and soft at this point. Remove from the fridge and add your essential oils. Using a hand mixer, whip for 10 minutes. Body butter will to become fluffy and form stiff peaks. Store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

I HIGHLY recommend this body butter to anyone with dry or problem skin. It has become my favorite body cream! For extra added skin soothing, add frankincense and/or helichrysum oils to your butter.

Also, the type of base oil that you add to this butter makes a huge difference. If you have eczema or sensitive/irritated skin, organic calendula oil and organic African shea oil are both very soothing and are great eczema healers!!

If you would like to learn more about the high-quality, therapeutic-grade oils I use, please e-mail me at: karekorn@gmail.com.